Anne Mourtaja

I’m Anne Mourtaja, a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 16 years of counseling experience and more than two decades in education. My path into this work began in schools, where I taught elementary students and later served as a middle school counselor, experiences that gave me a deep understanding of child development, family dynamics, and the emotional challenges children and adolescents face. After moving into private counseling practice, I spent 16 years working with children, adolescents, and adults in a community counseling center. It means a great deal to me when someone trusts me with their story, and I want therapy to feel like a place where you can feel safe, understood, and supported as you begin making sense of what hurts and what healing could look like.

My approach is compassionate, individualized, and grounded in evidence-based care tailored to each person’s needs. I work with clients navigating anxiety, depression, grief and loss, trauma, life transitions, relationship concerns, stress management, and personal growth. I am also pursuing advanced training in EMDR, a therapy that can be especially effective for trauma and other distressing life experiences. My hope is that therapy helps clients build insight, resilience, and practical skills so they can move forward with greater confidence, steadiness, and emotional well-being.

Your first session with me is a place to begin telling the truth about what has been weighing on you, at a pace that feels manageable and respectful. I want to understand what brings you in, what has shaped your experience, and what support would feel most meaningful right now. You can expect a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where we start building clarity, trust, and a path toward meaningful change.

In our first sessions, we'll explore questions like: What would healing or progress look like for you? What is bothering you the most? What changes would you hope to see in your life? These conversations help guide our work together and ensure therapy is focused on what matters most to you.